The 30 most stylish films of all time

Sometimes when you're watching a film, you get a feeling that there's something much greater at work than just characters and a plot line, and there's a reason why some films persist in history, and others are lost to the past. 

Films are about telling a visual story, and the script only comprises the bare bones of it. The cinematography, costumes, set design, and mode of storytelling, however, are what shapes and accessorizes a film—they make up the style. From the old classics to the new favorites, check out 30 of the best-dressed films you have to watch.

'Blade Runner' (1982)

Ridley Scott told the story of a bleak, rain-soaked futuristic film noir, which was somehow intensely appealing. The transparent coats, neon lights, and fictitious inventions went on to influence everything from architecture to fashion, advertising, and design.

'Romeo + Juliet' (1996)

Baz Luhrmann imbued Shakespeare with bright hues, Hawaiian shirts, neon hair, and a kind of hyper, spasmodic editing that somehow really worked.

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014)

Beginning with 'Rushmore' in 1998, Wes Anderson proved that he could make even a school uniform look exciting. More recently with this film, sharp and vibrant as ever, Anderson pulls you into a whole new world of coordinated uniforms, pastel pink boxes, and sweeping camera shots that feel good to watch even without a story line.

'Pierrot le Fou' (1965)

Jean-Luc Godard's colorful French New Wave film follows Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo as they embark on a crime spree through the French countryside all the way to the Mediterranean. Besides the stunning scenery and the way the characters play with the audience, their outfits almost act as extensions of their personalities, from his grey wool suit and vibrant collared shirts to her various A-line dresses and casual tomboyish outfits.

'Godfather II' (1974)

The sequel is so good because it offers not one but two timelines, uniting Robert De Niro's early 20th-century formality with Pacino's '60s three-piece suit glamour, and everywhere you look in either world, men are dressed to kill or be killed.

'Reservoir Dogs' (1992)

The two-piece suit had never looked so killer until Quentin Tarantino made it synonymous with rogue ex cons. What's more, most of the suits were vintage finds!

'Annie Hall' (1977)

The time-travelling mode of storytelling is stylistically impressive enough, but Diane Keaton's boyish wardrobe made of waistcoats, trousers, and patterned ties (which was supposedly based on Keaton's actual style) went on to inspire generations of androgynous fashion.

'Heathers' (1988)

Style was at the forefront of this unforgettably '80s high-school flick, and it used wardrobe to tell a story: each member of the Heathers owns a color according to her social standing, and the entire school's hierarchy is represented through the appropriate uniforms of jocks, nerds, and so forth.

'Drive' (2011)

The seriously stylish '80s noir atmosphere of the film, helped by white satin bomber jackets and beautiful cinematography, ranks this visual tale high, despite Gosling's character hardly saying a word.

'Fight Club' (1999)

The David Fincher-directed film has become a defining '90s moment for its grimy, jabbing cuts and for Brad Pitt's anti-fashion outfits. The red leather jacket, printed shirts, and tinted shades helped make him one of cinema's greatest antiheroes.

'Kids' (1995)

This film's style was so popular that for its 20th anniversary, the elite streetwear brand Supreme launched a capsule collection of T-shirts, hoodies, and skater wear. The boldly controversial film concentrated on both urban youth life and the brazen New York skateboarding culture, creating an ineffably cool style.

'Withnail & I' (1987)

At the end of the '60s, two alcoholic actors take a restorative holiday in a country cottage, swathed all the while in rustic hand-knit jumpers, lived-in tweeds, and dressy white shirts, creating the term "rural chic."

'Edward Scissorhands' (1990)

This well-loved film is regarded as Tim Burton's creative peak, and it's celebrated for giving Goth its big on-screen moment.

'Her' (2013)

Spike Jonze's stylishness is channeled through a deep anguish and in a realm just apart from our own, but the colors, the ambient music, and the simplistic visuals make the atmosphere swell between you and the screen. Instead of going stereotypically futuristic, the characters wear high-waist pleated trousers, grandfather-collar shirts, round-rimmed glasses, mustaches, and plenty of other throwback styles that have since resurfaced in men's fashion again.